Air pollution from cars and light-duty trucks in Minnesota harms public
health, contributing to cancer, asthma and respiratory disease. Moreover,
pollution from cars and light-duty trucks contributes to global warming, which
threatens much of what makes Minnesota special, from the Boundary Waters
wilderness to our vast forests to the health of our 10,000 lakes.
The good news is that automakers can make cars and
light-duty trucks that release less pollution, without compromising the
performance or availability of any vehicle models. By requiring car
manufacturers to build and sell cleaner cars and light-duty trucks, Minnesota can improve
its air quality and protect special places from harm. Through 2025, switching
to cleaner cars and light-duty trucks could prevent as much pollution as
removing half of all the light-duty vehicles in Minnesota from the road for a full year.
Moreover, adopting the Clean Cars Program can save consumers money at the pump
and reduce our dependence on oil.
Air pollution from cars and light-duty trucks in Minnesota contributes to
respiratory disease and cancer.
·
State air quality officials rated the air quality in the Twin Cities
and the Rochester
area as “good” on only half the days of 2007. In areas such as Duluth,
Brainerd and Marshall,
air quality rated less than good on at least one out of every five days during
2007. Long-term exposure to elevated levels of pollution can cause cancer,
exacerbate asthma, and contribute to respiratory illness in
otherwise healthy people.
·
Gasoline-powered highway vehicles produce more
than half of the state’s emissions of toxic benzene, along with a fifth of
Minnesota’s emissions of smog-forming nitrogen oxides, and a quarter of the
state’s emissions of volatile organic compounds, which also contribute to smog.
Air pollution from cars and light-duty trucks threatens Minnesota’s special
places and contributes to global warming.
·
Winters in northwest Minnesota warmed by 12° F between 1960 and
2001. The ice on Minnesota’s
lakes has been breaking open an average of 1.3 days earlier every decade since
the mid-1960s. Scientists at the University
of Minnesota predict that the Boundary
Waters habitat could change to look more like that of southern Minnesota in 50 years if
global warming continues unchecked.
·
Transportation
is responsible for a quarter of Minnesota’s
global warming pollution and emissions from cars and light-duty trucks have
been increasing rapidly. Between 1990 and 2005, carbon dioxide emissions from
gasoline use in transportation increased by 39 percent.
Air pollution from cars and light-duty trucks is preventable.
·
Readily available technology can make vehicles
cleaner and more efficient. Through advanced emission controls and simple
energy-saving changes, cars and light-duty trucks can emit less pollution and
travel further on a gallon of gas, helping to reduce air pollution.
·
Fourteen states across America have
taken action to increase the use of cleaner vehicle technology through a policy
known as the Clean Cars Program. In these states, cleaner, more efficient
versions of many well-known vehicles, including large vehicles such as SUVs as
well as flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs) operating on E85 ethanol, can be purchased.
The Clean Cars Program will reduce air pollution from Minnesota’s cars and
light-duty trucks.
·
Air pollution officials in the Northeastern
states estimate that the Clean Cars Program will cut smog-forming nitrogen
oxide pollution from cars and light-duty trucks by 15 percent by 2025 and will
reduce toxic air pollution by 8 percent or more compared to current federal
standards.
·
Under the Clean Cars Program, by 2025 Minnesota
would avoid 13.1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide pollution that
contributes to global warming. That is as much pollution as would be averted by
taking 2.5 million vehicles off the road for a year.
Clean cars and light-duty trucks benefit the economy and
consumers.
·
The Clean Cars Program would reduce Minnesota’s
oil consumption by as much as 785 million gallons through 2020, reducing
America’s dependence on oil.
·
This translates into savings for the consumer.
At prices of $1.74 per gallon, Minnesota drivers would save $1.4 billion on
gasoline between now and 2020.
·
Under the program, a Minnesota consumer who buys
a new car in 2016 will save $3 to $7 per month, with lower spending on gasoline
outweighing the higher costs of his or herauto loan. After the loan is paid
off, the consumer will save $24 to $27 per month compared to a car purchased
under old federal fuel economy standards.
Minnesota should require auto manufacturers to produce and
sell cleaner cars and light-duty trucks.
Minnesota should adopt the Clean Cars Program
to reduce air pollution from on-road passenger vehicles, and should take other steps to reduce the impact of
driving on Minnesota’s air and on our state’s natural treasures.
